The short story: Senior guard JeQuan Lewis scored all 17 of his points in the second half, while classmate Doug Brooks provided timely buckets and a defensive jolt in a victory over UMass Saturday in Richmond. VCU has won seven straight games.

Brook propped VCU up in the first half with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He hit a go-ahead triple to give the Rams a 25-23 lead with 4:00 left in the first half. Moments later, he buried a trey from the right corner to extend the VCU lead to 29-23.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

VCU improved to a league-best 63-21 (.750) against Atlantic 10 competition since joining the conference prior to the 2012-13 season.

The Rams improved to 5-2 all-time against UMass.

NEXT UP VCU will host George Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the E.J. Wade Arena at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast by ESPN2.